Feeding of Pheasants is a common practice in several monasteries of Bhutan and Nepal. Since monks have fed the Pheasant population for a long time, they are not afraid of monks any longer and behave like chickens in their presence. Most of these monasteries are on clifftops and can only be accessed on foot. Tharpaling monastery near Bumthang,Central Bhutan, is one of the very few which can be accessed through a motorable road.

Every morning one can witness a spectacle where several Himalayan Monals come to the monastery and feed on the leftover rice offered by the monks. They have not become domesticated, as they roam around their natural habitat all day and come to the monastery only at a specific time in the morning to feed. They don't come at all if the weather is bad. We saw seven females and three males on this particular morning.

The surrounding forest has a healthy population of Himalayan Monals and Satyr Tragopan and offers excellent high altitude Himalayan birding. - AS